Toyota of Hollywood wins approval for planned $25M showroom along State Road 7

Toyota of Hollywood’s plans for a 408,000-square-foot dealership won unanimous approval from Hollywood’s planning and development board last Thursday. The $25 million project will replace a 50,000-square foot facility that Toyota occupies today.

The new Toyota facility, to be built by Stiles Corp., will be larger than many buildings in the vicinity. The dealership is located east of State Road 7 between Taft Street and West Park Road.

The city is promoting the redevelopment of the State Road 7 corridor, Brian Rademacher, redevelopment manager for the city of Hollywood, told The Real Deal. In addition to an ongoing road, sewer and water main project being carried out by the Florida Department of Transportation, “we want to widen the commercial depth [allowed on the street] to support mixed use development,” he said. The city is in the process of rezoning and expects to schedule meetings, probably in January, to consider the recommendation. He noted, however, that the Toyota of Hollywood’s plan would not be dependent on rezoning.

The new Toyota complex, which will be built on multiple lots with a total of about 7.5 acres, will include a showroom, office, service area and a five-story, 789-space parking garage.

The planning and development board’s acceptance of the plan for the new dealership was dependent on the approval of three variances. Perhaps most significantly, the dealership wanted to increase the maximum allowable height of the building from 30 feet to 52 feet with decorative elements extending a total of 67 feet for portions of the building that are within the C1 district.

Steve Ostrov, general manager for Toyota of Hollywood told TRD that once the plan is permitted, the project should take about a year to build. During construction, Toyota of Hollywood will operate out of Hollywood Honda, a block and a half to the south of the Toyota dealership’s location.

Among the conditions for approval of the project, was the prohibition of auto-carrier trucks onsite. The applicant assured the board that the dealership had already made arrangements for unloading cars at an off-site location nearby.

Another concern of the board was that the lighting at the dealership might be intrusive on the surrounding residential area. Toyota assured board members that while some of the outdoor lighting will be used at night, it will not be aimed at the residential area.